Uconn

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Trevardo Williams arrived at UConn as an undersized but speedy defensive end with little more than raw talent. He entered Friday night's game at Syracuse with a chance to enter the record books.

Still a slightly undersized but speedy defensive end, the senior from Bridgeport no longer possesses simple, raw talent. He has become a beast who needed one sack Friday night, or in the coming weeks, to become the Huskies' career leader in sacks.

Mark Michaels set the mark of 27 from 1982-85 back when the Huskies were a Division I-AA, Yankee Conference team. Williams entered Friday night with 26.5 career sacks.

"It would mean a lot to me," Williams said. "It would mean I went to UConn and left a legacy."

In fairness, Williams will leave a legacy at UConn with or without the record. A state sprint champion in high school, Williams has the speed to wreak havoc in opposing offenses' backfields. That has been his calling card for the last four years. He stands just 6-foot-2 and weighs 233 pounds, which puts him more at linebacker size, but he is also strong enough to bull rush huge offensive linemen with success.

Of course, he isn't a one-trick pony and that is his legacy.

Williams has learned better how to play the run, helping the Huskies put together one of the best run defenses in the country.

"The thing I like about him is that he's playing the run very well," UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni said. "Rushing the passer is his strength but he's working awfully hard on his entire game."

Pasqualoni compared Williams favorably to former Syracuse star Dwight Freeney, the Bloomfield native whom Pasqualoni coached with the Orange. Freeney was like Williams when he first arrived at Syracuse, a guy with speed known for getting to the quarterback.

But Freeney turned himself into an excellent all-around defender and has had an outstanding NFL career. Williams has a chance to do the same thing.

"There's going to be a lot more to it at the next level," Pasqualoni said, "but he's got a big piece of the skill set that is required to play that position."

At times, Williams has made getting to the quarterback look easy.

He had 12.5 sacks last year to lead the Big East and stood second in the country in sacks per game. It isn't easy, however.

"It may look easy but it's not," Williams said. "If the (offensive lineman) is 6-6, 320 pounds it takes a lot of energy to drop him back, and on the next play it takes the same amount of energy."

Williams has been putting out that energy for four years and stood a shot to be rewarded for it Friday night.

Redshirt decisions: True freshmen E.J. Norris, a defensive end, Tyler Samra, an offensive lineman, and Joe Williams, a running back, cannot take redshirt seasons because they have played beyond the maximum allowed for a redshirt season this year. Pasqualoni hasn't quite decided who will redshirt among the freshmen, but that much is often obvious.

Quarterback Casey Cochran does not have the cast on the left thumb he broke just before the start of preseason practice. He is more than likely headed to a redshirt season and will play only if a sudden depth issue develops at quarterback. He makes the road trips only because Pasqualoni wants him around the team as experience for the future.

Defensive tackle Mykal Myers might still play but is probably going to sit out the season as a redshirt. Myers made some noise in the preseason and impressed the coaching staff, but the Huskies have some depth at the defensive tackle spots and hope not to need Myers.

Samra played a limited amount early in the year but hasn't been used in a long time as the offensive line is not in the same seven-man rotation it used to start the year. Pasqualoni said burning Samra's redshirt was a calculated move because he doesn't want to have so much inexperience up front next year.

Keep it going: UConn played its final Big East game at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse bolts for the ACC next year. That doesn't mean the Huskies won't eventually play here again.

Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said he would like to keep the series alive if only on an occasional basis, somewhat echoing the sentiments of men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim.

"I am a big Northeast football fan," Marrone said. "I am from New York, I played here."

Marrone also said he knows how difficult it would be to fit games with UConn in given the nature of scheduling.

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